Market: Boom phase followed by slight decline
Forecast for the Swiss car business: The boom in the new car market is coming to an end. But the Swiss are buying more used cars again. This sums up the first nine months of 2016 in the automotive industry. For the year as a whole, the economic research and consulting institute BAK BASEL is forecasting a 3.7% decline in new car [...]
The negative trend in new car sales is no surprise. The lifting of the minimum euro exchange rate in January 2015 led to a renewed boom in new car sales. As prices fell due to the strong franc, many car buyers brought forward their new purchases. A counter-effect set in in 2016; after the first nine months, the cumulative number of new car registrations was 3.1% below the previous year's figure. However, there was no slump: The effects of the cooled economic conditions and the counter-effect to the brought-forward new purchases in 2015 were dampened by the low price level and the continued positive consumer sentiment towards larger purchases, among other factors.
Second-hand market in Switzerland reacts with a delay
The delayed reaction of the used car market to developments in the new car business is reflected in the course of 2016. Up to the middle of the year, changes in ownership were up 3.6% on the previous year. The trend then reversed in the third quarter. The number of changes of ownership fell by 0.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. BAK BASEL expects a decline in the number of changes of ownership for the remaining months of 2016.
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